Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the BBC Board on the potential impact of changes to programming resulting from reductions in funding on Britain’s soft power.

The Secretary of State regularly engages with the BBC Chair on a range of issues, including the BBC World Service.

The BBC’s public service output is primarily funded through the licence fee. The World Service is also supported by a grant-in-aid from the government. Government funding for the World Service in FY 25-26 will be determined as part of the upcoming Spending Review.

In a time where the world faces huge challenges, the government is fully committed to a successful BBC World Service that continues to provide essential, impartial and accurate news coverage and programming reaching millions of people across the globe. The Government strongly values the BBC World Service as a UK soft power asset.